I purchased a new construction home that was built in 1999. Last
summer I had a dump truck full of mulch burry itself to it's axles in
my front yard. I thought it might have been from the water line to the
street and that the dirt was just soft in that area. Now that the snow
has melted my back yard (cleared one-acre lot) is riddled with so many
sink holes that I am afraid to let my 2 year old daughter walk in the
yard. I talked to my neighbor and he said that instead of hauling the
trees off the lot they were burried, leaves and all, in 3 or 4 large
20 foot deep holes. Some of these sink holes that recently appeared
are 4 feet deep! I can see large indentations in the soil around the
sink holes about 12 feet by 15 feet. What can I do? I was thinking of
renting a bulldozer to pack down the areas and top it off with fill
but I'm afraid I'd sink the dozer. Is it possible for a dozer to get
stuck? Is this something best left to professional and if so do I call
an excavator or a landscaper, or? Will I have to do this every spring
for the next 25 years? So much for pulling the car under a shady tree
in the back yard for a wax job! Any insight, suggestions or comments
would be greatly appreciated.
Geo in Cleveland

I purchased a new construction home that was built in 1999. Last
summer I had a dump truck full of mulch burry itself to it's axles in
my front yard. I thought it might have been from the water line to the
street and that the dirt was just soft in that area. Now that the snow
has melted my back yard (cleared one-acre lot) is riddled with so many
sink holes that I am afraid to let my 2 year old daughter walk in the
yard. I talked to my neighbor and he said that instead of hauling the
trees off the lot they were burried, leaves and all, in 3 or 4 large
20 foot deep holes. Some of these sink holes that recently appeared
are 4 feet deep! I can see large indentations in the soil around the
sink holes about 12 feet by 15 feet. What can I do? I was thinking of
renting a bulldozer to pack down the areas and top it off with fill
but I'm afraid I'd sink the dozer. Is it possible for a dozer to get
stuck? Is this something best left to professional and if so do I call
an excavator or a landscaper, or? Will I have to do this every spring
for the next 25 years? So much for pulling the car under a shady tree
in the back yard for a wax job! Any insight, suggestions or comments
would be greatly appreciated.
Geo in Cleveland

Well, since it sounds as though much of your development will suffer these
problems, I would contact a good construction defect litigation firm. This is
obviously going to damage your property value, to say nothing of what might
happen when these things start opening under parts of your foundation. In
other words, the developer ought to bear the costs of putting things right (I
don't think you intended to buy an insurance claim).



--
The US government wants the power to read citizens' email, but refuses to
defend the nation's borders. What's wrong with this picture?

I purchased a new construction home that was built in 1999. Last summer I
had a dump truck full of mulch bury itself to its axles in my front yard.
Now that the snow has melted my back yard (cleared one-acre lot) is riddled
with so many sink holes that I am afraid to let my 2 year old daughter walk in
the yard. I talked to my neighbor and he said that instead of hauling the trees
off the lot they were buried, leaves and all, in 3 or 4 large 20 foot deep
holes

You need a lawyer. The buried trees will take many years to rot & settle, & you
need to make the contractor dig them up. Also, your house may be built over an
underground stream. Get an attorney, fast.

Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming
train."
Robert Lowell (1917-1977)

Also be aware that the buried wood debris is attractive to termites, and
that the termites can then migrate to your home. It's important for you to
have a termite inspection by a reputable firm to catch any infestation in
its early stages. I agree that you need a lawyer.

Sue



"GeorgeR" wrote in message
om...
I purchased a new construction home that was built in 1999. Last
summer I had a dump truck full of mulch burry itself to it's axles in
my front yard. I thought it might have been from the water line to the
street and that the dirt was just soft in that area. Now that the snow
has melted my back yard (cleared one-acre lot) is riddled with so many
sink holes that I am afraid to let my 2 year old daughter walk in the
yard. I talked to my neighbor and he said that instead of hauling the
trees off the lot they were burried, leaves and all, in 3 or 4 large
20 foot deep holes. Some of these sink holes that recently appeared
are 4 feet deep! I can see large indentations in the soil around the
sink holes about 12 feet by 15 feet. What can I do? I was thinking of
renting a bulldozer to pack down the areas and top it off with fill
but I'm afraid I'd sink the dozer. Is it possible for a dozer to get
stuck? Is this something best left to professional and if so do I call
an excavator or a landscaper, or? Will I have to do this every spring
for the next 25 years? So much for pulling the car under a shady tree
in the back yard for a wax job! Any insight, suggestions or comments
would be greatly appreciated.
Geo in Cleveland

(GeorgeR) wrote:

I purchased a new construction home that was built in 1999. Last
summer I had a dump truck full of mulch burry itself to it's axles in
my front yard. I thought it might have been from the water line to the
street and that the dirt was just soft in that area. Now that the snow
has melted my back yard (cleared one-acre lot) is riddled with so many
sink holes that I am afraid to let my 2 year old daughter walk in the
yard. I talked to my neighbor and he said that instead of hauling the
trees off the lot they were burried, leaves and all, in 3 or 4 large
20 foot deep holes.

IMMEDIATELY call your local government (city or county) and call
the state's registrar of contractors. This is illegal in most
states, because of the sinkhole problem it creates. But you might
have a time limit on complaints, so leap to it.

And call the builder and tell them that you expect them to fix
the holes. If he balks, call a local TV station's consumer
affairs reporter and let them know that the contractor has
refused to do anything about holes that are "large enough to
swallow a child". Public humiliation can work wonders.

Some of these sink holes that recently appeared
are 4 feet deep! I can see large indentations in the soil around the
sink holes about 12 feet by 15 feet. What can I do?

Someone - preferably the contractor - has to dig out the buried
trees and fill the holes with real dirt.

Tsu

--
To doubt everything or to believe everything
are two equally convenient solutions; both
dispense with the necessity of reflection.
- Jules Henri Poincaré

You need a good lawyer, perferably someone who specializes in real estate.
Talk to the local real estate agents who farm your part of town, for
recommendations. Buried trees are bad, they attract termites, and rot
slowly, so you may be facing problems with sink holes appearing for the next
20 years.

Also check to see if the water table in your area has risen, (call the
county water district) you maybe on top of a ground water supply that is
eroding the soil under your property. I really hope your homeowners covers
that, or add flood insurance or something to it soon.

As for dozers getting stuck, probably not in the type of hole you describe.
Up in BC, Canada, they have a term known as "equipment line" to describe the
rows of sequentially larger tractors and bulldozers that get stuck in the
mud. One truck gets stuck, so someone gets a tractor, tractor gets stuck,
someone gets a larger tractor to pull the first tractor out, second tractor
gets stuck as well, someone gets bulldozer by now you get the idea.

Sameer

"GeorgeR" wrote in message
om...
I purchased a new construction home that was built in 1999. Last
summer I had a dump truck full of mulch burry itself to it's axles in
my front yard. I thought it might have been from the water line to the
street and that the dirt was just soft in that area. Now that the snow
has melted my back yard (cleared one-acre lot) is riddled with so many
sink holes that I am afraid to let my 2 year old daughter walk in the
yard. I talked to my neighbor and he said that instead of hauling the
trees off the lot they were burried, leaves and all, in 3 or 4 large
20 foot deep holes. Some of these sink holes that recently appeared
are 4 feet deep! I can see large indentations in the soil around the
sink holes about 12 feet by 15 feet. What can I do? I was thinking of
renting a bulldozer to pack down the areas and top it off with fill
but I'm afraid I'd sink the dozer. Is it possible for a dozer to get
stuck? Is this something best left to professional and if so do I call
an excavator or a landscaper, or? Will I have to do this every spring
for the next 25 years? So much for pulling the car under a shady tree
in the back yard for a wax job! Any insight, suggestions or comments
would be greatly appreciated.
Geo in Cleveland

On Tue, 18 Mar 2003 09:07:53 GMT, "Snooze"
wrote:

You need a good lawyer, perferably someone who specializes in real estate.
Talk to the local real estate agents who farm your part of town, for
recommendations. Buried trees are bad, they attract termites, and rot
slowly, so you may be facing problems with sink holes appearing for the next
20 years.

Also check to see if the water table in your area has risen, (call the
county water district) you maybe on top of a ground water supply that is
eroding the soil under your property. I really hope your homeowners covers
that, or add flood insurance or something to it soon.

As for dozers getting stuck, probably not in the type of hole you describe.
Up in BC, Canada, they have a term known as "equipment line" to describe the
rows of sequentially larger tractors and bulldozers that get stuck in the
mud. One truck gets stuck, so someone gets a tractor, tractor gets stuck,
someone gets a larger tractor to pull the first tractor out, second tractor
gets stuck as well, someone gets bulldozer by now you get the idea.

Sameer

"GeorgeR" wrote in message
. com...
I purchased a new construction home that was built in 1999. Last
summer I had a dump truck full of mulch burry itself to it's axles in
my front yard. I thought it might have been from the water line to the
street and that the dirt was just soft in that area. Now that the snow
has melted my back yard (cleared one-acre lot) is riddled with so many
sink holes that I am afraid to let my 2 year old daughter walk in the
yard. I talked to my neighbor and he said that instead of hauling the
trees off the lot they were burried, leaves and all, in 3 or 4 large
20 foot deep holes. Some of these sink holes that recently appeared
are 4 feet deep! I can see large indentations in the soil around the
sink holes about 12 feet by 15 feet. What can I do? I was thinking of
renting a bulldozer to pack down the areas and top it off with fill
but I'm afraid I'd sink the dozer. Is it possible for a dozer to get
stuck? Is this something best left to professional and if so do I call
an excavator or a landscaper, or? Will I have to do this every spring
for the next 25 years? So much for pulling the car under a shady tree
in the back yard for a wax job! Any insight, suggestions or comments
would be greatly appreciated.
Geo in Cleveland



If the trees were buried 20 feet deep they will not rot due to a lack
of oxygen. I have seen such trees and stumps dug up and they look
like they were just cut.

What has probably happened is that there were air pockets trapped when
the holes were backfilled. Eventually, the soil will fill the pockets
resulting in a depression at the surface. The easiest fix is to bring
in new fill and smooth everything off again. If the pockets have been
filled the problem will be over. If not, it will likely recur.

I had a 2 acre lot cleared and we buried most of the stumps. That was
11 years ago and I have one sink hole. But it is a beaut! My garden
and orchard now occupy that space. I put the bee hives in front of
the hole as no one will ever go there anyway.

JMHO

John

I'm not arguing that the trees could be causing the problem, but you didn't
mention if you were on a septic system or not. Do you have septic lines
running there? When I hear sink holes, my first thought is a water line
somewhere leaking. But then my husband's a plumber so that would be my
first though. grin


"GeorgeR" wrote in message
om...
I purchased a new construction home that was built in 1999. Last
summer I had a dump truck full of mulch burry itself to it's axles in
my front yard. I thought it might have been from the water line to the
street and that the dirt was just soft in that area. Now that the snow
has melted my back yard (cleared one-acre lot) is riddled with so many
sink holes that I am afraid to let my 2 year old daughter walk in the
yard. I talked to my neighbor and he said that instead of hauling the
trees off the lot they were burried, leaves and all, in 3 or 4 large
20 foot deep holes. Some of these sink holes that recently appeared
are 4 feet deep! I can see large indentations in the soil around the
sink holes about 12 feet by 15 feet. What can I do? I was thinking of
renting a bulldozer to pack down the areas and top it off with fill
but I'm afraid I'd sink the dozer. Is it possible for a dozer to get
stuck? Is this something best left to professional and if so do I call
an excavator or a landscaper, or? Will I have to do this every spring
for the next 25 years? So much for pulling the car under a shady tree
in the back yard for a wax job! Any insight, suggestions or comments
would be greatly appreciated.
Geo in Cleveland